Jihadist cleric says the Islamic State in Iraq is illegitimate

Sheikh Hamid al-Ali, the prominent jihadist cleric in Kuwait - and a financier and supporter of terrorism as far as the United States is concerned (and who I blogged about here) - has surprised many of his followers in asking al Qaeda to dissolve their Islamic State in Iraq and go back to fighting jihad until the conditions are right to establish such a state, according to a MEMRI dispatch.

Here some of the Sheikh's statements on this subject that MEMRI was able to cull from his website:

The imama [established by the ISI] is not grounded in Islamic law, since Islam does not recognize [the concept of] swearing allegiance to an unknown, hidden leader who lacks the power, the visible presence and the [self-sustaining] empowerment [tamkin] which would enable him to maintain [safety] on the roads, to dispense law and justice, to protect life, property and honor and [to defend the] borders...

Establishing an imama without adequate religious basis and then imposing it on people by the force of the sword is an [unacceptable] religious innovation... and there is a danger of straying from the right path, for which Allah may withdraw his blessing [from the believers] and cause jihad to be forgotten...

[To] monopolize jihad and [spread] abhorrent division, extremism and [mutual] hatred [among the jihad fighters] – albeit under a pretense of piety – is to do the work of the Devil and to follow [base] instincts, and everyone must avoid such acts and keep away from this dangerous path.

I suspect that the Sheikh understands why the Sunni tribes are rebelling against this Islamic State of Iraq - because it is an unaccountable government that rules by terror. I think that he grasps that should other Iraqis follow suit and decide they too are not interested in putting their fate in the hands of these extremists, this would deal a catastrophic blow to the jihadist movement.

Not surprisingly, however, al-Ali's followers were not all thrilled with his remarks. As MEMRI reports, typical of the reaction were the comments one Bakr bin Salim Bakri posted on another jihadist website:

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most serious [cases of inciting] fitna that the jihad in Iraq has known during this sensitive phase. And this fatwa was not issued by an insignificant sheikh.

[It was issued] by a sheikh who is not only known for his support of jihad but is a well known [figure, namely by] Sheikh Hamed bin Abdallah Al-Ali – the most prominent of the sheiks who support the jihad fighters...

This fatwa, coming at this time, can turn into a weapon against the jihad and the jihad fighters. Such fatwas, [if issued], should be distributed among the jihad fighters in secret...

In my opinion, the media will exult over this fatwa as it has not exulted since the day Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi was killed.

I, for one, hope he's right about this - that the media will exult about this "fitna" (dissent) in the jihadist corps - but I won't hold my breath. I sometimes get the impression the mainstream media is almost as invested in the Americans losing as al Qaeda is.

In any case, Al-Ali remained firm in his position, responding to such criticisms with the following(again, from MEMRI):

I clarify the truth for people – even if it is a bitter [truth] – [since this is better] than letting them [cling to] false hopes and eventually be hit by a disaster that will frustrate and confound them...

We'll soon, I suppose, whether or not the Sheikh still counts al Qaeda in Iraq among his followers.